I see txt speak dying out very soon with the explosion of smart phones and how they use QWERTY predictive text, especially with the invention of the Swype entry method which I expect will massively take off once it's out of closed beta. I know smart phones are more expensive than your standard phone but it looks like a good selection of budget smart phones are around the corner.

I see txt speak dying out very soon with the explosion of smart phones and how they use QWERTY predictive text, especially with the invention of the Swype entry method which I expect will massively take off once it's out of closed beta. I know smart phones are more expensive than your standard phone but it looks like a good selection of budget smart phones are around the corner.

I don't think there's really a problem with people making basic errors in informal situations and would not see them as thick. he problem comes when people don't know they are making an error. A lot of my pupils don't understand what's wrong with saying 'would of' cause they genuinely think that's the correct way to write it.

People making the odd your/you're and there/their mistake on a forum is fine as long as they would know the proper use for formal writing.

In talking you can get away with so much more but one of the ones that irritates me is 'I've went' or 'they've already ate'.

Another is dropping the 'ly' from adverbs. Why can't people just talk proper!

So long as I understand what someone is saying/writing/texting/emailing, then I don't care about their grammar/spelling.

I would never dream of correcting them either - that would just be too crass.

I wouldn't either unless I was doing something like proof-reading (which I have done) where it was essential to correct not only the bad spelling but the grammar as well.

Nigel -

1) I've given a couple of my pet hates, but another is the over-use of words, something which is much loved by officialdom. Why, e.g., say "at this point in time" when "now" will do?

2) I went to school in the late 1940s and the 1950s, first at the local primary, and from age 8 at a private school. Spelling was drummed into us at the first, and at the second both spelling and grammar were, along with punctuation. English language was part of the school curriculum and we had marks docked in exams for bad spelling, etc.

I don't think these days it matters what school you go to. Just look at Prince Harry as an example. His alleged A-level cheating was disproved because the spelling and grammar were so bad, and, as we all know, he went to Eton.

3) I think text-speak must ruin spelling. Obviously it's going to make children and even older people lazy. I read in the news about a teenager who wrote his entire A-level English essay in text and the Examining Board accepted it!

Americanisation is another of my dislikes, even although it seems in many ways more sensible, e.g. "nite" for "night", "labor" instead of "labour", and spelling words like "practice" and "licence" the same for both noun and verb. Have to say, though, that I play Scrabble online, often against people in the US and being able to use both types of spelling is very useful.

4) It's very important if, for example, you're applying for a job, or have to write reports. I've seen applications for jobs recently where the writers couldn't construct a simple sentence properly and yet they were apparently well-educated.

5) No I don't automatically assume people are thick because of basic English mistakes, especially spelling. I'm well aware that there are those who suffer from dyslexia to a greater or lesser degree. I've a friend whose emails are often so garbled that they're incomprehensible, yet he has a very responsible job in which he has to write detailed reports. I'd never dare ask him if he's dyslexic, but can only assume that, whatever his problem, he makes full use of spell-checks, etc, at work. I, would, however, be horrified by a doctor who couldn't spell. There's no room for error in the medical world.

I see txt speak dying out very soon with the explosion of smart phones and how they use QWERTY predictive text, especially with the invention of the Swype entry method which I expect will massively take off once it's out of closed beta. I know smart phones are more expensive than your standard phone but it looks like a good selection of budget smart phones are around the corner.

Another is dropping the 'ly' from adverbs. Why can't people just talk proper!

What's an adverb again? I'm with daisy, if I can understand what someone is saying it doesn't bother me. I always do my best with grammar and spelling but on the odd times I don't care figure "meh, I'm not writing a covering letter - it's a forum!".

Though sometimes I write the way I speak but I feel that brings across my personally. It's meant to be friendly chat around here, no need for formalities. For those who are bothered by it .... Unlucky! Must be irritating

I see txt speak dying out very soon with the explosion of smart phones and how they use QWERTY predictive text, especially with the invention of the Swype entry method which I expect will massively take off once it's out of closed beta. I know smart phones are more expensive than your standard phone but it looks like a good selection of budget smart phones are around the corner.

Alot of people on my facebook talk in text talk ... And that's on a pc, I feel sorry for their kids

Adverb is words that describe verbs. Basically adjectives for verbs. Like, the way you walk may be slowly or the way you talk would be properly. Hence why my last sentence of that post was a little bit of a joke.

Like Aileen, I went to school a long time ago. As a secretary in a large bank my knowledge of English was rather important as a writer in my later years the use of words to paint a picture to describe, landscape, a person - accurately, a legend or story in an intersting fashion which the reader wants to continue reading, are perhaps the most important things about 'knowing' the English language. Sentence construction to this end is so important, neither tooo long or too short and the use of punctuation to emphasise the cogent points and enhance a word-orientated illustration can make the difference between a complete muddle or words and a real picture.

My main problem was always (and still is ) spelling necessary Always forgot how many 'c' and 's' there were

Resuscitate always stuck me, and in one job I had to use the word quite a lot. What I used to do as a secretary, before the days of spell-checks, was to make a list of words I had difficulty with. "ible" and "able", "ence" and "ance" have always caused me problems.

I used to get very fed up with younger members of staff who were constantly asking "how do you spell .....?". I recall one lass who wanted to know how to spell "pneumonia". I suggested she look it up in the dictionary. After a few minutes she said "but I can't find it under N".

In fairness, though, English is a pretty difficult language. As an example, we have right, rite and write - all prounced the same way but meaning very different things, and two of the words are nouns and the last a verb. That, plus all the silent consonants, must make it hell for foreigners.

Nigel, I have to think about that word every time I use it, along with desperately.

I'm not bothered too much by what I read on this forum, because posts aren't meant to be works of literature and are very often written in a hurry, but what drives me to despair is when I see letters on Ceefax, or in the press, which contain basic spelling errors, and yet these are supposed to be checked by editors.

But will somebody PLEASE tell me why commas are often used instead of apostrophes? That I do notice a lot on MW. As I don't possess a mobile, is it simply that there is no apostrophe key for texting? If that's the case it would be simpler if the commas were just left out. A lot of people haven't a clue how to use them properly anyway. Every so often there are arguments for and against their removal in general usage, but, as usual, no definite decisions have been reached.